The same thing happened in my neighborhood over the summer. We also had several people who had their garage door openers switched , put in other peoples cars or driveways. basically they mixed up the neighborhood a bit. The neighborhood buzz was it was a teenage prank/initiation of some sort.

In My opinion, the people who stole the owners manuals and left everything else were on a treasure hunt.

Always a listener, I heard the bizarre story of the stolen owner's manual. The only question I have is does the listener who called live near a University or College? I believe that someone was on a scavenger hunt (it is the hazing season for frats/soroities) and desparately needed a 2007 Ford Focus owner's manual. This would explain the multiple people involved,the rumaging through, and no valuables stolen.

Amy from Chicago here.

Nope, I don't live near a University/College. The only school near me is a Catholic grade school. At this point, I've given up determining who and why, and have moved on to counting my blessings that it wasn't worse.

Hi from Finland. You might be sick of replies by now, but this is my theory. They might have been after the service history of the car. In my car (not a Ford ...) the service history is in the owners manual. It shows all the stamps showing oil changes etc. Should the thieves have got this, they could then pass a badly maintained Ford Focus they have perhaps legitimately acquired as a well maintained one by using a genuine service card from a different car.

same thing happened to friends of mine in DC last week...the thieves bypassed an expensive GPS system among other things. It's weird, but there is something going on.

All I can say is: Amy, you have a sexy voice!

Have you considered that it wasn't specifically your owners manual someone needed, but the pages of a book to use for toilet paper? A homeless person may have used your vehicle as a place to sleep.

These were obviously semi-professional car thieves in training. They were trying to steal the car and couldn't figure out how to overcome the security system (steering lock or equivalent). While trying to work it out using the car manual, they were disturbed and took off running. However, they remembered to bring the owners manual so they could do their homework and learn how to steal another 2007 Ford Focus to fulfill the order placed on steal_me_a_car.com.

I think they took the manual to get the key code for the car, and then come back later with a replacement key and simply drive the car off. I know of a similar situation where the door handle was stolen (only the handle), and the car was later stolen in the middle of the night.

OK, except: There's a federal law that prohibits car dealers and others from duplicating keys by using coded information unless they verify the registered owner's id. My dealer alerted me to this law some time ago. I realize that only stops honest people, but it has to be considered. I think the prank/trophy concept is more plausible: Find a Ford Festiva, break in, and bring us the manual as proof.

It is a fraternity prank. I had to do the same thing a long time ago.

I agree. I think they took it for a scavenger hunt!

And extra points if the owner's manual is still shrink-wrapped.

I think it was a dare and the owner's manual was proof of the dare.

It was the body shop drumming up business. The owners manuals part was to cause confusion so no one would figure it out - hmmmmm?

I would bet the farm that the people who broke in had a rental vehicle and a problem they couldn't solve that needed to be solved right away in order to drive the stupid thing. Very few rental vehicles include an owner's manual in the glove compartment because....people steal it! On a rare occasion when I rented a vehicle that had one, I did need it -- immediately -- to figure out how to turn the stupid wipers on. (Yes, it was the wipers that were stupid, not me!) These people didn't take anything because then they would have to think of themselves as thieves, and of course they weren't (they figured). They decided it was okay to break the window though, justifying it by figuring the insurance would pay for it. It's amazing how people can justify their actions to themselves.

Its a scavenger hunt. Look at http://njs...telist.htm item number 160 for example.

about 12 years ago, we were at a hotel in santa fe, nm, and i unfortuneately left our car unlocked. someone got into the car (a 92 FOCUS), stole our old cellular bag phone and our FORD FOCUS OWNERS MANUAL. our theory at the time was that it looked a little like a check book. we have spent much time wondering just what the little punk said when he saw what he did get...

Escort? Taurus? Never saw a '92 Focus...

I love when a question like this gets posted to the board so the amateur sleuths and conspiracy theorists can snap in to action. :)